How Should We Wait for the Advent?
James 5:7–10 NKJV
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
We now come to the 3rd Sunday in Advent, a season in which we are to reflect upon Jesus’ promise that He would return at the end of this age to fully establish His Kingdom, when His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Because the season of Advent occurs on the Christian calendar immediately before Christmas, we have a tendency to see Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas and the arrival of the Holy Child. The word “advent” comes from the Latin word meaning “to come from.” We could call the first Christmas and “Advent” as we remember that the Word of God came down and was made flesh. But this event happened over 2000 years ago. We have no reason to wait on Christmas. Rather, at Christmas, we reflect that this advent which was predicted by the prophets of old in the Old Testament. But this same Jesus is returning to earth, not as a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who lived among us, was rejected by many who should have accepted Him, who died on a cross for our redemption who believe on Him. On the Third day, he rose from the dead and after 40 days ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. These things we confess in our recitation of the creed every Sunday. We also confess that this Jesus is going to return to judge the living and the dead. For those who believe on Him, we have Eternal life, to those who have rejected Him, eternal misery separated into darkness and eternal fire.
Just our reciting of the creed should alert us to how important it is that we be ready when He returns. How then should we occupy ourselves against that day? (Luke 19:13). Waiting for the Lord to return is not a static event. Rather we should wait on the Lord until He comes. We need to take active preparation lest that day overtake us like a thief.
This week, we are looking at a passage from the Book of James. James was not the apostle, but the half-brother of Jesus and brother of Jude who wrote the Epistle of Jude. He became the patriarch of the Jerusalem Church where he was noted by the Jews who were not Christians as being a man of great piety. He was not at first a believer on Jesus as the Gospels clearly show, In fact, he and His brothers came to put Him away because they thought He was out of His mind. He also shows that he was an unbeliever in John 7 when he tries to get Jesus to fit the Jewish expectations of the Messiah. He told jesus that He must come to the feast of Tabernacles and show Himself and do signs and wonders there. But this was not Jesus time or means. Not at Tabernacles but Passover — not as a earthly king, but to be lifted on a cross. It is interesting that the brothers of Jesus were not at the Passover feast (Last Supper) which was to be celebrated in family groups. As the oldest brother, it was Jesus’ obligation to preside over this family celebration. The disciples were there. Mary was probably there. But why aren’t Jesus’ brothers mentioned? This is because Jesus saw family differently as Jesus had told his brothers earlier that his mothers, brothers, and sisters were those who heard and obeyed the word of God.
The good news is that after Jesus rose from the dead that James and Jude (maybe others of His brethren) were converted and served in the Church. This is why we have the epistles of James and Jude. Scholars have noted similarities with the epistle to the teaching style of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount. Much of James can be considered “practical theology” as compared to a study of the deep doctrines of the Christian faith, such as occurs frequently in the writings of Paul. Each has its proper place and complement each other. As being practical is concerned, James is interested in Christian behavior. His concern in this passage is how we should conduct ourselves as we await the return of Jesus, or what is otherwise known as the Advent of Jesus.
One of the topics which concerned James is that there were those who were showing favoritism towards the rich and influential within the Church assembly. In the secular world, society was highly stratified into ranks which privileged the rich and the powerful. We can see what James thought of this in the passage immediately preceding the passage we read this morning:
James 5:1–6 NKJV
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Although the Church did not attack the social system directly, social rank was not to be enforced within the assembly. In the world, some were masters, some were plebeians, and some were slaves. The Church never advocated the external overthrow of this order, but when the Church met, all members were equal. when the assembly was dismissed, the social distinctions remained in force. There was a practical aspect to this distinction. Instigating a slave revolt would have disastrous repercussions for the Church as it would lead to severe persecution. The genius of the early Church was that it subtly undermined the evil in society. For example, the Church would purchase slaves, and the Church would become their master. A master had the absolute right under roman law to dispose of his slaves as seemed fit, including, releasing his slaves. This is something the church did as they were able. The church would also pick up infants which were abandoned at the Pagan temples, the vast majority of which were women. Some might be saved to become prostitutes in the Pagan temples. The others would perish and be thrown into the sewers. The practice resulted in a severe imbalance between males and females. Where were the excess males to find a wife? The answer is the Church raised a lot of girls and taught them to be respectful, practical, and cultured, a great prize. They would often convert their Pagan husbands. This is truly a practical theology.
Paul, in First Corinthians, echoes the sentiment of James. It seems that at the Agape feasts in the Church that the members were served in order of social rank, with the rich getting the better food and wine. The slaves got much more basic food. Paul mentions that many had become sick and died in the Church because they failed to observe this equality of members in the Church body. In the passage in James 5:1-6, we see an example of an attitude of what the Christian waiting for the Advent was not to observe. They were not to grasp at earthly riches which becomes a source of envy and disharmony. James thunders against these as the Old Testament prophets of old did. Remember that these prophets usually railed against Pagan practices and attitudes which were happening within the assembly of Israel. What is described here serves as a warning to the Church which awaits the return of Jesus Christ. The Lord, Himself, warns us:
Matthew 24:48–51 NKJV
But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In contradistinction. the Christian is to have the patience of a farmer waiting for his crops to ripen for harvest. Trying to force matters will not help matters. There are those who want to help the Lord bring on the end of the age and His return. We live in a world full of evil which distresses us greatly, On the positive side, we are those who long to see the Lord. Paul in his imprisonment had this desire. But he realized that the decision on when he would glorify God in his martyrdom was not his to make. He realized for the time being that it was more profitable for him to remain and minister unto the brethren. This must be our attitude as well.
We who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, like the prophets of old, must also be willing to suffer for Him. Just like the farmer is not static while waiting for the harvest, we must suffer the heat of day. The farmer weeds and hoes waiting patiently for the latter rains. Farming is hard work. The farmer cannot bring the crop to its final harvest. He does not provide the seed, the rain, and the sunshine, Only God provides these things. But the farmer obeys God in that he does what he is tasked to do in order to reap the harvest. Likewise, we are to occupy ourselves in what the Lord has tasked us until He returns. This involves, again, patience, obedience, and hard work. There is great blessing awaiting for us at the harvest. we need not fear Jesus who will judge all matters. For since we do not know the time of His return, let us always be found doing His business when that day comes. This is to sow the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, in spite of fire, dungeon, and sword, following in the faith of our fathers. We are not called to impose the Gospel by the sword. We are not called to fix society. Instead, we preach the Gospel, if enough become Christians, society will improve as a result. We do not crusade and kill, nor overthrow nations. We simply obey what we are tasked to do. The Lord knows when the harvest is ripe. He will bring this in His way and time. Let us be content with this.
